Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require juveniles convicted of sexual offenses to register as sex offenders.

Judiciary Committee co-chairman Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, said members of the committee believe sexual assault is just as serious when the offense is committed by someone under the age of 18. Full Article

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They fail to mention this overcomes a big hurdle towards becoming AWA compliant. Here in Nebraska back in 2009 our then Attorney General, Jon Bruning, tried to get us AWA compliant. But the Juvenille issue stopped him, and holds to this day. Be careful, Connecticut !

‘“They’re violent crimes…and they create a lifetime culture of fear (for victims),” Tong said after a public hearing Friday.’
This statement about the unmitigable effects of sex crimes (and apparently only sex crimes) is one of the three myths that keep registration laws going as popular social policy. One of the other heads on this Cerberus like beast is the myth of “frightening and high” reoffense rates. That head is being muzzled by facts right now. The second myth is still going strong, unfortunately. Noone wishes to attack that one, because it makes one appear anti victim. The third myth is that registration works to reduce the rate of victmization. That is also under attack at present. Until these three heads (myths) are subdued by facts, registration will continue, and registrants will be kept in this dark underworld of endless punishment.

Then you charge the teen as an adult so they fall under the adult crime guidelines if you feel this strongly about it, but leave those who are 17 and under alone if you are not going to do that. They do that with other crimes considered “adult”. There is latitude here that needs to be considered. We treat people under 18 as adults and minors simultaneously that it is crazy how the law can keep anything straight.

The other side is shouldn’t you be understanding why a 14 year old boy was acting in such a manner? You want to tar and feather him without understanding what precipitated the actions, e.g. was he the target of someone he knew or trusted earlier in his life, etc? What sort of help does he need to be a productive person in life? All three of these young people have avenues to help them get through life and this instance without carrying around society’s stigmas.

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